Demountable pallet crib



J. J. ACTESON 2,420,640

DEMOUNTABLE PALLET CRIB Filed June 2, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' J. J. ACTESON 2,420,640

DEMOUNTABLE PALLET CRIB Filed June 2, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .JWW 24 3nventor Patented May 20, 19 47 UNITED STATES PATENT "orrlcs DEMOUNTABLE PALLET cam John J. Acteson, Auburn, Wash.

Application June 2, 1945, Serial No. 597,170

4 Claims.

1 My invention relates to a demountable pallet crib and, more particularly, to a crib structure that is capable of assembly and disassembly with relation to cargo handling pallets of conventional form.

In the art of palletizing cargo, the goods being moved are piled upon pallets or pallet boards,-

which are adapted to be engaged by the forks of lift trucks and raised and moved into desired locations. Such is entirely practical for cargo packed in rectangular boxes, cartons or'crates, but great diificulty is encountered with goods in bags, tubes, rolls, or that which has odd shapes that do not permit vertical or superposed piling into relatively large units. .A great need has been felt for cribbing means that may be used in connection with the pallets, to produce, in efiect, a cage or crib to receive such non-rectangular goods, or to enclose the rectangular goods, as cartons or the like, and to provide supplemental support when several pallets are piled upon each other. Such crib means that have come to my attention during my wide experience in cargo handling operations, have been either permanently assembled structures, or if capable of disassembly, are of such complicated nature as to be impractical to use, and so poorly arranged as not to be capable of supporting superposed weights thereupon. Others have required manhandling both for assembly and dis assembly, because of the close-fitting interlocking means that have been employed. These are all disadvantages that I have overcome, and having them in mind, it is an important object of my invention to provide a demountable pallet crib, which is simple to construct of crude materials using unskilled labor, easy to assemble without the use of tools or the like, rigidly associated with a pallet when assembled, and capable of supporting great weights and of properly containing with facility a wide variety of cargoes.

A further object of the invention is-the provision in a pallet crib of the type described, of load supporting elements, which are associated with each other in a simple manner and will not spread or buckle under great loads.

Another object of the invention is to provide,

in a pallet crib of the type described, interlocking means between the various parts which structurally tie the various frame members together without requiring skill or great force.

A still'further object of the invention is the provision, in a pallet crib of the type described, of structure capable of rapid assembly and disassembly, which is not deleteriously affected by hard and repeated usage nor affected by exposure to the elements'or the like.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto I prefer to accomplish as follows:

According to a preferred embodiment of my invention, I dispose about a pallet board a plurality of frame members which enclose the perimeter of the pallet and form an open-work frame to enclose cargo. Specifically, the crib comprises one pair of identical cheek frames and a second pair of identical end frames, which are arranged alternately about the side edges of the pallet and are joined along adjacent edges into a strong and durable demountable crib. Each type of frame includes upright load-bearing members, crosstied together, and having means cooperable with other means on adjacent frame units, whereby an interlocking of adjacent frames may be had. On each cheek frame is a lower lateral member which rests upon the pallet upper side to maintain the crib against downwarddisplacement, also by reason of having an upwardly directed hook element, including a camming surface, which receives and supports a cam follower member of an adjacent end frame. Also between each end frame and an adjacent cheek frame is interlocking means which prevents outward displacement of the latter frame, so that the crib can neither bulge at the corners nor collapse when heavily loaded. The association of the various frame units together is entirely possible manually without the use of tools, and when so brought together may be as easily disassembled.

The novel features that I consider characteris tic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to itsorganization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof,- will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a partially assembled demountable pallet crib, with the essential elements correlated together;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of an upper comer of the crib with certain interlocking parts separated for convenience of illustration;

Fi 3 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a lower inner corner of my crib as viewed toward a cheek frame;

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation of a pallet with the crib frame assembled thereon;

Fig. 5 is a disclosure of a pair of loaded pallets in superposed arrangement; and

Fig. 6 is a reduced end view of a pallet crib.

A demountable pallet crib to be fully satisfactory and to perform the objects of this invention, must have at least two totally distinct characteris'tics: it must be capable of simple assembly or disassembly without requiring tools; and, in the assembled state, it must be extremely rigid so that the parts will not be easily displaced, and yet will be capable of supporting great weights.

Accordingly, a preferred form of my invention is shownin the attached drawings forming a part of the specification, in which the numeral l designates a pallet of conventional construction, including a pair of side joists I I, I2, and an intermediate joist l3, which members are decked or sheathed on their top and bottom edges by boards l4, IE, to provide both a bottom surface which rests upon a support, and an upper, or decking, surface upon which is placed cargo to be moved. In the space on either side of joist |3 may be inserted the forwardly extending arms l5 of a conventional lift truck (not shown for convenience of illustration) whereby the pallet and a load carried thereupon may be lifted'and moved as desired.

My demountable crib comprises a pair of identical cheek frames 20, 20, and a pair of identical.

end frames 22, 22.

Each cheek frame is positioned along the side edges of the pallet l0 adjacent the ends of the openings on either side of joist l3, and an end frame 22 is positioned relative each of the ends of the pallet and between the opposed cheek plates. Each cheek plate is interlockably engaged with each of the adjacent end frames, and each end frame is interlockably engaged with each of the adjacent cheek frames when the device is assembled.

In a cheek frame, I employ a pair of studs 24, 25, that stand alongside the side edge, but spaced from the nearest corner of the pallet. Between lower portions of these paired studs is mounted a joist 25, which is coextensive in length with the pallet and is so positioned on the studs as to rest upon the pallet edge. The upper ends of the studs are joined by a tie member 21, also coextensive in length with the pallet. A brace 28 extends diagonally between opposite corners of the fram that has been described.

In a preferable form of construction, a secondary stud 30, 30, is positioned between members 26 and 21, and one is secured to each of the studs 24 or 25. Outstanding on the side of secondary member 30 is horn 3|, shaped to provide a camming surface 32. A bolt 33 assists in preventing dislodgement or splitting of the horn 3| from the member 30.

Each of the end frames 22 is formed of a pair of posts 4|), 4|, of length equal to the studs 24 or 25, and in the assembled crib, these posts lie along the side edges of the pallet contiguous with the corner. thereof and closely adjacent the studs 24 or 25, as-the case may be. The lower portions of the posts 40, 4|, are joined together by a tie member 42, which, in position, lies alongside the end of the pallet ID. A similar tie member 43 is employed to join the upper ends of the posts. Member 43 has on its inner face a space block 44 of a length somewhat less than that of member 43 and so arranged that a notch 45 exists between each end of member 44 and the nearest adjacent Post 40' or 4|.

When a pair of opposed end frames are properly assembled with relation to a check frame, the ends of upper tie member 21 extend into the notch 45 and prevent dislodgement of the cheek frame outward on the end frames. The cheek frame is retained against downward displacement by means of the joist 26 resting upon the pallet.

On the inner face of each post 40 and 4| is .secured a cam follower member 41 which has a sloping surface 48 to engage with the camming surface 32 of horn 3|, so that when an end frame is properly positioned relative a pair of check frames with the cam follower secured by the camming surface of horn 3|, outward, as well downward, displacement of the end frame relative the cheek frame is prevented. Diagonal braces 43 between member 44 and each of the members 48 near either end prevent the latter from moving under shear pressure.

The normal mode of assembling a crib upori a pallet is for the workman to erect and support upon each edge of the pallet a cheek frame 20. While these frames are held in substantial upright parallelism, an end frame is moved to the pallet from an endwise direction, while being lifted slightly from its normal position in the crib until the ends of the upper joist members 21 are partially inserted into notches 45. Then the end frame is lowered to bring the point of the cam follower member 48 into the notch behind horn 3|, whereupon the end frame is securely locked into position withrespect to its two adjacent cheek frames, both against downward, as well as outward, dislodgement.

It will be observed that in the assembled form at each corner of the pallet are provided two interlockably secured upright members, which constitute a strong load-bearing column at the corner. and that there is also an enclosed interlocking frame-work around the upper part of the crib that tends to eliminate racking and twisting of the frame when it is subjected to extremely hard usage.

The practice of palletizing has advanced greatly during the present war period and this demountable crib is ideal for use in such work. Proper storage of palletized goods requires that a maximum use be made of all available floor space. As a result, it is common for cargo han dlers to pile loads of goods six, seven, and even more, pallets high, with a load being positioned between each pair of pallets. Such is not normally possible with odd shaped cargo, such as sewer pipe, rolls of screen, goods packed in cases or cartons insufliciently strong to support great weights, or of such odd shapes as not to provide high stacking. By the use of my crib as shown in Fig. 5, elongated rolls of paper or the like may be placed upon the pallet and confined by the crib, even though the ends be long enough to extend beyond the end of the pallet. This can be done without interfering with the use of the fork of the lift-truck or complicating the insertion thereof into the tunnels of the pallet. It has been found possible in erecting great piles of palletized goods employing my crib construction, to place as many as six pallets and cribs with cargo therein upon a seventh pallet. This largely flows from the transfer of the support of any one pallet through the column at each corner, comprising studs 24 or 25 and posts 40 or 4|, in pairs interlocked to the next superposed pallet and crib, and so on up. In such an instance, the weight of the load is home by the columns and not by either the pallet or the cargo thereon.

In a preferred form of my invention, I employ standard 2 x 4 timbers throughout the crib .ex-

cept that tie members, as 42 and 43, are usually formed of either 1 x 4 or 1 x 6 lumber, as is also the case with the braces 28. The member 30 and the horn 3| are most efficiently formed of ,2 x 8 timber, cut to form the horn 3| and the camming surface 32, in which case the portion cut out becomes useful as the cam follower member 41. Obviously, other dimensions may be employed, as these are only mentioned as specific examples.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention, it will occur to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a pallet, of a demountable pallet crib, comprising: a pair of identical cheek frames, each including: a pair of first studs to stand alongside the edge but spaced inward from the corners of the pallet, a joist attached to the lower portions of said studs, said joist'being coextensive with and to rest upon the pallet edge, means on each first stud forming a camming surface, and a tie member joining upper portions of the paired studs of each cheek frame; and a pair of identical end frames, each including: a post to stand at the corner of the pallet and alongside a stud of the cheek frame, a tie member to lie alongside the end of the pallet and secured to the lower ends of the posts of an end frame, a second tie member joining the upper ends of the posts of each frame, means forming a cam follower and carried by each post for interlocking cooperation with a camming surface of an adjacent stud, and at each upper comer of adjacent cheek and end frames interlocking means to prevent displacement of a cheek frame relative to an end frame.

2. The combination with a pallet, of a demountable pallet crib, comprising: a pair of identical cheek frames, each including: a pair of first studs to stand alongside the edge but spaced from the corners of the pallet, a joist attached to the lower portions of said studs, said joist being coextensive with and resting on the pallet edge, means on each first stud forming a camming surface, and a tie member joining upper portions of said paired studs, said cheek frame having a tongue at each upper corner; and a pair of identical end frames, each including: a post to stand at the corner of the pallet and alongside a stud of the cheek frame, a tie member to lie alongside the end of the pallet and secured to the lower ends of the posts of an end frame, a second tie member joining the upper ends of the posts, means forming a cam follower and carried by each post for interlocking cooperation with said camming surface on the adjacent cheek frame, andxat each upper corner of said end frames means forming a notch for the reception of the tongues of the cheek frames.

3. The combination with a pallet, of a defrom the corner of the pallet, a joist attached to the lower portions of said studs, said joist being coextensive with and to rest upon the pallet edge, and a tie member joining the upper portions of the paired studs of each cheek frame; and a pair of identical end frames, each including: a post to stand at the corner of the pallet alongside a stud of the adjacent cheek frames, a tie member to lie alongside the end of the pallet and secured to the lower ends of the posts of an end frame, and a second tie member joining the upper ends of the posts of each frame; interlocking means including a camming surface and a cam follower between a post and stud of adjacent end and cheek frames to prevent downward and outward displacement of an end frame relative the cheek frame; and at each upper end corner of adjacent cheek and end frames interlocking means therebetween to prevent displacement outward of a cheek frame relative to an end frame.

4. The combination with a pallet, of a demountable pallet crib, comprising: a pair of identical cheek frames to be positioned each along an opposite side of a pallet each including a member to rest upon the side edge of said pallet to preclude downward movement relative to the pallet; a pair of identical end frames to stand upright between the side edges of opposed pairs of cheek frames and including means to preclude lateral movement of each end frame relative the pallet; inter-engaging means between each upper corner of adjacent cheek and en frames to prevent outward displacement of a cheek frame relative an end frame; and interlocking means including a camming surface and a cam follower'surface between each adjacent cheek and end frame to prevent downward and outward displacement of an end frame relative to a check frame.

JOHN J. ACTESON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,581,518 Mount Apr. 20, 1926 2,155,823 Hamlin et a1. Apr. 25, 1939 1,193,567 Lane et al Aug. 8, 1916 472,615 Cooper Apr. 12, 1892 746,199 Symes et a1 Dec. 3, 1903 938,887 Neebes Jr. Nov. 2, 1909 368,801 Aikin Aug. 23, 1887 1,043,379 Wight Nov. 5, 1912 1,320,312 Byars Oct. 28, 1919 1,439,929 Wagstaff Dec. 26, 1922 1,881,822 McKelligon Oct. 11, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,017 Great Britain June 24, 1898 620,294 Germany Oct. 18, 1935 

